Monday, August 28, 2017

Sustained by his fellows

Well...It's the first day of school.  The kids are coming.  More time would be useful, but alas, "Time waits for no School District" (or something along those lines).

Hurricane Harvey didn't have much impact 200 miles inland.  Although, I did hear a person in line at the Grocery Store (They rationed Tortillas, two packs per family.  That was all I saw that was limited.  Really?  Tortillas?  That's some prepper food right there!).

Lost my train of thought....Oh yeah, I heard a person in line at the Grocery Store mentioned her concern for the Storm Surge and how much damage in might cause in town.  I asked her if she meant our town.

"Yep!  We need to be watchful for it."

"You do realize that the elevation here is 1760'?

"So?"

"If the storm surge reaches here, we're probably in deeper Kimchi than we'll be able to handle."

Some people's children.  Or to quote a George Carlin line, "The '60s sure were good for you weren't they?"

In any case, we got a couple of inches of rain spread out over 24 hours, so got absorbed by the soil real well.  Winds were gusting 20-30K.  All in all, not so bad.  Corpus, Houston and Rockport got hit pretty hard though.

But, it's been a long couple of months and the next few weeks will still be "eventful". I'm tired, so, I'm going with an old standby.



As I've worked my way through this list, I've noticed a few trends.  Vietnam Recipients were primarily Fighter Pilots, with a couple of FACs, some Enlisted Aircrew and a couple of Heavy Drivers.  WWII were primarily B-17 and B-24 crewmembers with a few Fighter Pilot recipients also.  

Which if you've studied the Air Force's roles in those conflicts, make perfect sense.  But there were some unique situations also.  3 were awarded for actions in Ground Combat (Chair Force? Ground Combat?)  A1C Pitsenbarger and CMSGT Etchberger in Vietnam and Maj Hamilton in WWII.

I've discovered another unique case.  Captain Darrell R. Lindsey received the Medal in WWII.  He was the only B-26 pilot to receive the award.  The fact that his name is on the monument pictured above is grounds enough to tell his story.  The facts of the mission justify the award.
Source

Captain Lindsey enlisted in the Army Air Corps a little over a month after Pearl Harbor.  Initially he was trained as a bombardier, but (details are a little hazy) apparently got reassigned and trained as a pilot in the B-26 Marauder.  

Probably as a result of that retraining, he arrived in England in Early 1944 as a Captain and Flight Commander and immediately started flying missions preparing the battlefield for the Normandy Invasion.  The Marauder was not intended to fly missions deep into Germany, but was designed to be fast and carry a decent load.  As such was well suited for interdiction of Rail, and Road transportation networks.
Source


Over the course of the next 5 months, Captain Lindsey flew 45 missions and gained a reputation as a superb pilot and leader.  On August 9th, he was selected to lead a mission to destroy one of the few remaining railroad bridges that could resupply the Germans defending against the Allies in Northwest France.


The target is in the top center,  The gray mass at the bottom is Paris.
The target was a small town named L'Isle Adam, and although the Luftwaffe was pretty well eliminated as a threat in the air, their AAA (Hiss!) was still plentiful and well provisioned.

As the formation is beginning its attack, Captain Lindsey's plane is hit by AAA with minor damage and he continues the attack.  Approaching the release point, the Marauder is hit in the right engine, which catches fire, and the explosion throws them out of formation.  

Captain Lindsey is able to recover the aircraft, rejoin the formation as lead and continue the attack.  His right wing is engulfed in flames.  After dropping their weapons, and maneuvering clear of the target, he directs his crew to bail out, holding the plane straight and level for them to do so.  
Mission Photographs
Source

The last person to leave is the bombardier who offers to drop the landing gear before he jumps so that Captain Lindsey will have a place to leave the aircraft.  At this point, the right wing (which is full of highly combustible AvGas) is almost completely engulfed in flames.

Captain Lindsey declines the offer saying that he believes that would cause a loss of control and orders the Bombardier to bail out.  Which he does.

Immediately thereafter, the right wing explodes and the Marauder enters a steep dive and crashes.  Captain Lindsey did not make it out.
I thought this poignant.  The after action report for the mission.
Source

While at SAMS at Ft Leavenworth (affectionately widely known as the "Book a Day" Club), one of the required readings was S.L.A. Marshall's "Men against Fire". An interesting book with some unexpected (at the time) observations of people in combat.  


“I hold it to be of the simplest truths of war that the thing which enables an infantry soldier to keep going with his weapons is the near presence or the presumed presence of a comrade…He is sustained by his fellows primarily and by his weapons secondarily.”  
I found that quote here, and it's not exactly clear that it came from Marshall or one of the other authors quoted (wouldn't want to get crossways with the copyright Nazi's now would we?).

However, it does make the point.  People in Combat are willing to go to extraordinary lengths, beyond what mere mortals should be expected to, to preserve their comrades.  Not for their country specifically, not for the flag, not for the Medal.  To save their comrades.

That....To me. Is Honor!

Rest in Peace, Warrior!

Captain Lindsey's Citation:


"On 9 August 1944, Capt. Lindsey led a formation of 30 B-26 medium bombers in a hazardous mission to destroy the strategic enemy held L'lsle Adam railroad bridge over the Seine in occupied France. With most of the bridges over the Seine destroyed, the heavily fortified L'Isle Adam bridge was of inestimable value to the enemy in moving troops, supplies, and equipment to Paris. Capt. Lindsey was fully aware of the fierce resistance that would be encountered. Shortly after reaching enemy territory the formation was buffeted with heavy and accurate antiaircraft fire. By skillful evasive action, Capt. Lindsey was able to elude much of the enemy flak, but just before entering the bombing run his B-26 was peppered with holes. During the bombing run the enemy fire was even more intense, and Capt. Lindsey's right engine received a direct hit and burst into flames. Despite the fact that his ship was hurled out of formation by the violence of the concussion, Capt. Lindsey brilliantly maneuvered back into the lead position without disrupting the flight. Fully aware that the gasoline tanks might explode at any moment, Capt. Lindsey gallantly elected to continue the perilous bombing run. With fire streaming from his right engine and his right wing half enveloped in flames, he led his formation over the target upon which the bombs were dropped with telling effect. Immediately after the objective was attacked, Capt. Lindsey gave the order for the crew to parachute from the doomed aircraft. With magnificent coolness and superb pilotage, and without regard for his own life, he held the swiftly descending airplane in a steady glide until the members of the crew could jump to safety. With the right wing completely enveloped in flames and an explosion of the gasoline tank imminent, Capt. Lindsey still remained unperturbed. The last man to leave the stricken plane was the bombardier, who offered to lower the wheels so that Capt. Lindsey might escape from the nose. Realizing that this might throw the aircraft into an uncontrollable spin and jeopardize the bombardier's chances to escape, Capt. Lindsey refused the offer. Immediately after the bombardier had bailed out, and before Capt. Lindsey was able to follow, the right gasoline tank exploded. The aircraft sheathed in fire, went into a steep dive and was seen to explode as it crashed. All who are living today from this plane owe their lives to the fact that Capt. Lindsey remained cool and showed supreme courage in this emergency."

If any of you that have been stationed in Germany and are familiar with this Air Force Station near Wiesbaden, yes, it was named after Captain Lindsey.
Source

24 comments:

  1. Stationed at the Wiesbaden Air Base 1984-1988. Visited Lindsey frequently. Thanks for the history lesson!
    Chuck
    RVN 69-70, Seahorse39
    RVN 72-73, Vanguard 8

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  2. I'm glad I know about Captain Lindsey now. I often wonder just how much the training kicks in in these type situations. While it takes great intestinal fortitude to not go to pieces in an emergency (overcoming the fear and getting the job done is the very definition of courage), there is also the training. Aviate, navigate, then communicate. Sounds like the captain had his hands full doing all three, especially communicating to his crew to get out of the bird before the fuel went.

    Such courage is inspiring. He finished the mission and got his men out. A few more seconds and he might have made it too.

    What a leader!

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    1. Did you notice the different "tone" of his Citation, as compared to all I've seen so far? I thought that was interesting. Apropos of nothing whatsoever.
      Re: Leader. Yep, there seemed to be quite a few of them back then. Sure hope his current counterparts are waiting in the wings should such leadership be required as I don't think much of the people in command positions nowadays.

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    2. I believe they're there, but my fear is a war so short and violent that they never get a chance to rise above and beyond, and for those at the top to be consecutively shit-canned.

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  3. Thank you for making this fine American known to me. I absolutely agree with your statement above: " Re: Leader. ".

    Paul L. Quandt

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    1. You're welcome.
      Yeah, and as Sarge is wont to say "More's the pity!"

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  4. Needed to read something like this today, thanks Juvat. Another of the greatest generation passed early this morning, 92 years old and she worked on B24's at Holman Field here. She was quite the character and raised one heckava daughter... too much dust here now...

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    1. Sorry to hear that, and my prayers to you and yours for your loss.

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  5. Well done, and a good tribute to one of the greatest generation. He truly was a leader, in word and deed. Sadly he didn't come home.

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    1. I've often wondered how many more would've survived had ejection seats been "a thing" back then. Simple affairs, no need for transonic ejections. Even without zero-zero, a lot of lives could've been saved. Especially out of those death-trap Lancasters the Brits flew.

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  6. Great quote from Marshall! And if you don't mind a suggestion? I find the Medal of Honor citations to be somewhat less than reader friendly. I've found that by adding a few paragraph breaks (in places I guess would be best) breaks up that big block of text and makes it a little easier to read. Just a thought...

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    1. Good Suggestion, Proof. I'll take a look at doing that next post. Thanks.

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  7. Something about the B-26 has always "looked right" to me. Which proves that I don't know much about aerodynamics or airplane design. By all accounts the Marauder was a superb aircraft when operated within the confines of its flight envelope, but it had a vicious bite when nibbling at the edges. One a day in Mobile Bay.

    Reading about Captain Lindsey and other warrior heroes always makes me feel better about the possibilities of the human species. Thanks once again for an uplifting post!

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    1. err, PrairieA, it was "...one a day in Tampa Bay..." Sorry to be such a pedant....picky, picky, picky. :) (Buck would be proud, :) )

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    2. Most airplanes work better "when operated within the confines of its flight envelope". Just finished (on the recommendation of one of our commenters)"Flying American Combat Aircraft of WWII". The chapter on the B-26 was entertaining. Course the anecdote in the chapter on the B-29 where the General and the Captain took a B-29 for a spin each thinking the other was checked out in the aircraft was good for a coffee spewing also.

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    3. Must be something about Tampa Bay, black hole or something. When the Lawn Dart first came out, someone resurrected that statement. Course they said a similar thing about Hill, "Want an F-16? Buy property outside Hill."

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  8. PS One of the finer books written about the air war in WW II is about a B-26 named "Flakbait" (book by same name) and its crew that followed them throughout their tour (Although another, "Mild and Bitter" would eventually surpass them in number of missions flown) A great read--read it in 7th grade. Lots of good pics also..

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    1. I made that model when I was a kid, read the book too!

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    2. Flak Bait is in the Smithsonian, where for many years just the forward section of the aircraft was displayed. Now she's in the back room at Udvar-Hazy being put back together in her entirety. Looking forward to that day!

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    3. Little Juvat had a delay at Dulles while on a trip last weekend. Got a chance to stop in and look around. I'm jealous.

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  9. If it was possible, we'd be better off without war, but war is better off with heroes like these.

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  10. Agree with both parts of the sentence.

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